Woman, 2 children injured in Markham house fire

A woman and two children have suffered burns in a house fire in Markham on Sunday morning, York Regional Police say.

The children are two boys, age six and 14.

Staff Sgt. Andrew Bell would not confirm if the woman and two children were related.

The fire broke out in a home in the area of Bur Oak Avenue. Emergency crews were called to the scene shortly after 10 a.m.

Const. Laura Nicolle, spokesperson for York Regional Police, told CBC News that three people were taken to hospital but the extent of their injuries is not known.

Ontario's Office of the Fire Marshal is now investigating the blaze.

Very loud bang reported

Bell said the cause of the fire is not yet known.

Asked if there was an explosion at the property, he said: "A large bang was reported to police … I'm hearing it was very, very loud, so, I can't say definitively that it was an explosion, but consistent with something like an explosion."

Bell said firefighters have not been able to enter the house because it is believed that the structural integrity of the house has been compromised.

There are other people living at the house who have not yet been accounted for.

"We're still trying to locate those people. We don't know their whereabouts at this point in time," Bell said.

"We physically haven't been into the structure yet. There's some concerns with the structure itself. It's a potential collapse situation as well."

Bur Oak Avenue was closed from Kennedy Road to William Berczy Boulevard. People are urged to avoid the area.